Former Spokesperson for the defunct Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
(AFRC), Major Retired Osahene Boakye-Djan, has described the arrest of
some alleged coup plotters by the National Security as a joke.
He said the description given by the Minister of Information, Kojo
Oppong Nkrumah about how the arrested persons were planning to execute
the plan falls below expectation, hence more clarity should be provided.
Mr Boakye-Djan told Kwabena Prah Jnr (The Don) on Ghana Yensom on Accra
100.5FM Tuesday 23 September, 2019 that: “What the government is
churning out especially regarding the ammunition retrieved at Citadel
Hospital at Alajo is a joke.
“The actions that go into coup making go beyond what the security and
the Minister of Information are telling us. They will need to provide
further clarity on the matter.”
Three suspects have been arrested in connection with an alleged coup
plot against the Akufo-Addo government, a statement issued by the
Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said.
Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, owner of Citadel Hospital and his two
accomplices – Mr Ezor Kafui (a local weapon manufacturer) and Mr Bright
Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC) were arrested on Friday, 20 September
2019 at Accra and Bawaleshie near Dodowa.
The government’s press statement on Monday, 23 September 2019, said: “A
joint security operation of personnel drawn from Defence Intelligence,
CID and Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), conducted a successful
operation which led to the arrest of three persons and the retrieval of
several arms, explosive devices and ammunition from locations in Accra”.
The release explained that surveillance on the activities of the persons
involved commenced in June 2018, when Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ofosu started
organising a series of meetings at the Next-Door Beach Resort, Teshie,
and other locations in Accra, in furtherance of their objectives.
The minister’s statement said: “…Between June and August 2018, BB,
acting for and on behalf of Dr Mac-Palm, contacted a number of serving
military personnel, and talked them into hatching and executing a plot
to obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for
the purpose of taking over the reins of government. These meetings were
closely monitored”.
Again, the statement said in August 2018, Dr. Mac-Palm and two others,
Kennedy Amoah and Dr. Albert Sam (based in the USA), formed a group
called ‘Take Action Ghana” (TAG) “under the guise of mobilising the
youth for nation-building, education, health, and providing shelter to
the needy”.
The minister said, “evidence available shows the intent was to build a
support base of youth and radicalise them against the political
authority in Ghana”.
“In furtherance of this scheme, Dr Mac-Palm contracted one Mr Ezor from
Alavanyo to produce locally made weapons and Improvised Explosive
Devices (IEDs) for the operation. In July 2019, Mr Ezor set up a
workshop in a container, originally used as an X-Ray laboratory, at the
premises of Citadel Hospital, and started producing the weapons and IEDs
in-house.
“On 10th September 2019, Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ezor procured from the Korle
Bu Teaching Hospital, some essential chemicals to be mixed with gun
powder, stone chippings, surgical needles and powdered pepper for their
operations. He also contracted a worker at the Base Workshop in Burma
Camp to supply 10 AK 47 riffles. He made an advance payment of
GHS7,000.00.
“On Thursday, 19 September 2019, at about 2300 hours, still under
surveillance, Dr Mac-Palm, Mr Ezor, and one soldier went to an area
close to the Laboma Beach to test fire some of the locally-manufactured
weapons”.
Items retrieved at Citadel Hospital, Alajo, Accra were:
• 5 x locally-manufactured pistols with magazines fitted on.
• 1 x foreign pistol (Reg. No. PX154006) with 2 X magazines.
• 3 x locally-manufactured pistol barrels.
• 3 x smoke grenades.
• 22 x Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
• 9 x 7.62mm NATO AK47 rounds.
• 2 x AK-47 magazines.
• 1 x long Knife.
• The outlined plan for the operation presented by some soldiers at one of their meetings at Next-Door Resort.
• 7 x mobile phones.
• 2 x IPADs.
• 2 x decoders.
• 1 x modem.
• 3 x tablets.
• 1 x Ghanaian passport.
• 2 x pen-drives.
• 1 x voice recorder.
• 1 x USB connector.
• Machines and materials for manufacturing weapons and IEDs.
At Bawaleshie near Dodowa, a 63 x 9mm NATO rounds ammunition was retrieved.
